


Watch This

by Dandy



Category: Free!
Genre: Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 19:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17028849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dandy/pseuds/Dandy
Summary: Momo asks Nitori to watch a movie.(It's a Ring AU.)





	Watch This

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on October 1st, 2014.

“N-nitori-senpai…”

Aiichiro looked up from where he was bent over his math book to look at Momotarou, who was shuffling his feet and looking down at the carpet. He sounded uncharacteristically nervous, though Ai had noticed that seemed normal these past few days, even if he couldn’t think of a reason why. Momo had been jumpy, skittish, cringing at even the smallest sound, for about a week now.

“What’s wrong, Momo-kun?” he asked, hoping that maybe the younger boy would finally open up about what was bothering him.

“Um…” Momo looked up, caught his eyes for only a moment, then looked away again. “I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie with me.”

That wasn’t what he was expecting at all. Ai frowned, glancing back down at his book. “I’m a little busy studying right now. Maybe later we can-“

“No!” Momo suddenly looked frantic, eyes wide, like those of a cornered animal. “We really need to watch it now.”

Ai stared back at him, concerned. Maybe this did have to do with what had been bothering him after all.

Momo looked back down at his hands. “It’s… really important to me that you watch it right now, senpai.”

Ai’s eyes widened. “Momo-kun, your nose is bleeding again!” It had to be the fourth or fifth time this week.

Momo put a shaking hand up to his face, rubbing some of the blood onto his fingers. He stared at them, looking on the verge of tears, and that won Ai over.

“Okay, okay, we’ll watch the movie.” He grabbed some tissues off his desk and held them out to Momo. “Here, take care of your nose and I’ll put the movie in. Where is it?”

Momo pointed to where a blank disc sat in a case, unassuming, on his desk. Ai got up and picked it up, flipping it over in his hands. He expected to see some kind of identification on it, but there was nothing.

“This movie?” he asked, and Momo nodded in clarification. His nose was still bleeding pretty badly.

“Go clean that up in the bathroom, Momo-kun. I’ll put the disc in.”

Momo nodded wordlessly and left the room, letting the door fall shut behind him.

Ai took the disc out of its case and put it in the DVD player. He was expecting it to go to a DVD menu, but instead it started playing immediately. All that was on screen was a ring of light, like the viewer was looking up at something.

“That’s strange,” murmured Ai to himself, picking up the remote and pressing pause. The video didn’t pause, but continued playing, showing footage of the inside of a well.

Ai tried pressing stop, then tried changing the channels, but nothing would get rid of the bizarre and unsettling images. He started to back away from the TV, calling, “Momo-kun?” over his shoulder tentatively.

There was no answer. The video played on relentlessly, showing him an empty chair, a picket fence, a painting of a woman brushing her hair. 

Ai backed up until he was against the door to their room. “Momo-kun!?” he started to yell, trying to find the doorknob behind his back. He wanted nothing more than to look away from the terrible video, but somehow he found he couldn’t tear his eyes away. “ _Momo-kun_!”

There was the sound of crying. At first he thought it was the video, the snatches of the little girl he saw, but then realized it was coming from the other side of the door. He finally found the doorknob, but couldn’t turn it, like it was being held from the outside.

“Momo-kun, let me out!” he screamed, trying to pound the door, still unable to look away from the television.

“I’m sorry,” he heard Momo cry from outside, but the door remained firmly shut.

Ai watched the images on the screen, a lake, a fly, a tree, maggots. He started to cry, pounding against the door with his fist. “Please, Momo, I don’t want to watch anymore, let me out, let me out!”

Momo continued to sob out apologies, holding the door.

The video marched on, showing him the woman, the girl, a ladder, the chair, and a crescent of light that got smaller and smaller…

Finally, it was over. Ai was still sobbing. Dread sat heavy in the pit of his stomach, and though he didn’t know why, he was in fear.

His phone rang.

Ai froze, trying to gulp down tears. Very, very slowly, he walked over to his desk and picked up the phone. The caller ID read “UNKNOWN,” in big, glaring green letters.

He didn’t want to answer.

He did anyway.

“H-hello?”

There was a pause, so long and heavy that Ai wanted to scream.

And then, a child’s voice.

“Seven days.”

The line went dead. The only sound was Ai’s harsh breathing and Momo sobbing outside.

Ai put the phone down and walked to the door. It opened for him easily now. Momo was standing in the middle of the hallway, sobbing, dried blood still on his lip.

“…Funny joke, Momo-kun,” said Ai slowly, staring at Momo, ready for an explanation. “You really got me.”

“It’s not a joke, senpai,” whispered Momo, still unable to look at him.

Ai felt like it was hard to breathe. “What are you talking about? Of course it was, it had to be-“

Momo had been muttering, “No, no, no,” over his words, backing up slowly, shaking his head. “It’s not a joke. If you don’t want to die, you have to make someone else watch that video… before time is up. You have to spread the curse to them.”

Ai stared at him with growing horror, as he realized what had happened. If what Momo was saying was true, he knew all along, willingly gave Ai this curse.

Could he do the same? Ai shuddered, feeling sick to his stomach. “What are you saying? How could I do that to someone?”

Momo’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to die.” A few more steps back. “I didn’t want to-“

He turned and ran.

Ai held up a hand as if to stop him, but Momo was already to the stairs, disappearing down them. He felt something trickling onto his lip, something wet and sticky, and he brought his reaching hand up to touch his face instead.

His nose was bleeding.

Ai started to laugh.


End file.
